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About North Douglas herald. (Drain Or) 2023-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 2024)
Page 2 October, 2024 Volume 2, Issue #10 The North Douglas Herald Newspaper is published once a month in Drain Oregon. The North Douglas Herald is owned and operated by Oregonians, published and printed in the State of Oregon. It is our mission to bring the news and information that our Readers will find pertinent, useful and with some insight to our common values and sensibilities. The Herald is currently available at pickup locations across North Douglas and South Lane counties in Oregon. To submit Photos, Recipes, Jokes, Cartoons, artwork and the like: send email to editor@ndherald.com All online submissions can be sent and delivered to the any one of the following departments: photos@ndherald.com submissions@ndherald.com| schoolnews@ndherald.com reports@ndherald.com churchdirectory@ndherald.com citydesk@ndherald.com news@ndherald.com sales@ndherald.com vitalstatistics@ndherald.com If you would like to receive a bundle of newspapers to distribute to your customers or visitors to your location, please go to: www.ndherald.com/locations.html If you see breaking news or if you have a news report, you can email to news@ndherald.com. Any photo attach- ments preferred in .jpg or .pdf format. OUR DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS is the 25th of the month prior to publication Free Papers can be found, upon availability, in all of the following town’s and these fine establishments Drain Rays Food Place, 308 N 1st St. Country Cabin Coffee & Laundry, 438 W “B” Ave Hwy38 The Rose Bar, 413 Umpqua Hwy 38 Mildred Whipple Library, 205 W. “A” Ave. Beaver Creek Unique, 416 W “B” Ave. US Bank, 229 N 1st St Zolezzi Insurance Agency, 208 W “C” St. Studio Tattoo, 329 N 1st St Yoncalla Eagle Valley Supply, 2570 Eagle Valley Rd Food Center & Deli, 2580 Eagle Valley Rd Why Not Bar and Grill, 164 Main St Yoncalla Public Library, 194 Birch St Elkton Arlene’s Cafe & General Store 14858 State HWY 38 Elkton Station 14940 State HWY 38 Tomaselli’s Pastry Mill & Cafe, 14836 OR Hwy 38 Elkton Community Education Center, 15850 HWY 38 W Scottsburg Riverbanks Speedy Mart 32841 State HWY 38 Reedsport Jacks Barber Shoppe, 1199 Highway Ave, TRMF Smokes, 1898 Winchester Ave. US-101 Don’s Main Street Family Restaurant, 2115 US-101 Recreation Station, 1575 Winchester Ave US-101 S Creative Mercantile, 392 Fir Ave. High Water Cafe, 427 Fir Ave. Lower Umpqua Library, 395 Winchester Ave. 7-11 Store, 2011 Winchester Ave. US-101 Oregon Coast Restaurant, 2165 Winchester Ave Cottage Grove Old Mill Farm Store, 327 South River Rd. Kwik Pik Market #2, 925 E Gibbs Ave. Daves Corner Market, 633 N 9th St. Crafty Mercantile, 517 E Main St. The Book Mine, 702 E Main St. Dari Mart, 1200 E Main St. Cottage Market, 603 OR HWY-99 Medication Station, 1041 N Pacific HWY-99 Winchester Bay Beck’s Winchester Bay Market, 245 8th St. Pelican Market, 75298 Pacific Coast HWY US-101 Oakland Bart’s Oakland Market, 204 SE 1st St Tyee Landing, 11424 Oregon HWY 138 Sutherlin Kwik Pik Market & Deli, 551 W Central Ave. Smitty’s Food Mart & Deli, 1367W Central Ave. Center Market, 1230 W Central Ave. Center Market #32, 206 E Central Ave. S-Mart, 333 E Central Ave. Central Food Mart, 1021 E Central Ave. Chevron/S-Mart, 1484 W Central Ave. DC Precision Lube & Tune, 489 E Central Ave. Roseburg Roseburg Tobacco & Food Mart, 2050 NE Stephens St 1 Am Market, 1931 NE Stephens St Lil’ Pantry, 2611 NW Edenbower Blvd AM PM, 2530 NE Stephens St Springfield Dari-Mart, 1950 Mohawk Blvd. Eugene Willamette Valley Motoplex, 86441 College View Rd North Douglas Herald PO Box 581, Drain OR 97435 Rusty Savage, Editor 541 221-3283 www.ndherald.com North Douglas Herald October 2024 Editorial Government Know your local Representatives! By Rusty Savage I feel the change in season looming and it inspires me to look at the world around me with fresh eyes. It’s a subtle change that doesn’t scream “lookout, here it comes”, it just whispers “pay attention, OK?”. Because the experience of life’s ongoing cycle is like deja vu all over again. Like when they say, “I can feel it in the air”. So my patterns of Summer are transitioning and it’s time to change it up a bit. Just like the seasonal change, I feel an internal change that is similar to the former state of being but a little older and wiser. I think that it’s fair to say that it’s a good thing and that it’s a continuation of immeasurable growth. It’s internal. It doesn’t necessarily show, outwardly - well maybe it does, maybe that’s just old age... Other changes, besides the weather, are forthcoming as well. Like the change or continuation of our governing bodies. Local and otherwise. It’s the election cycle, that recurring civic duty and responsibility to participate in the democratic experiment of our founding fathers. I hope, if you are legally eligible, that you are prepared to submit your vote by having already registered. Study the candidates and the platforms that they portray, so that you can vote with your head and intellect as well as your heart and conscience. National elections are important but it is in our towns, counties and cities where the governing is most likely to help, hinder or promote a lifestyle and day to day quality of life. I am keenly becoming more aware of that since my move to the small town life about 6 years ago. I don’t know if any one else is having the problem of exasperation at the municipal doldrums that seem to drone on and languish in minutia, when there are important and maybe ambitious opportunities at hand. Communities living in the 21st century can and should reach for and, with cooperation and thoughtful efforts, have some expectation of achieving them. Not everyone experiences this. I have learned of communities that are reaching for and achieving great rewards for the citizenry. There is an excitement, in these locale’s. It underlies the ideas and goals that reflects the energy projected, implemented and the resulting visions materialized. My observations, upon closer inspection, detects quiet but dedicated folks are almost always there, maybe in the shadows, but always lending a hand and serving their neighbors. Here in Drain I have learned by research and introduction, how, at least at times, the citizens and residents of the community have a culture of dreaming big and making it happen in really big ways to help the community at large. There were robust citizen led city committees that worked individually and together for a variety of local civic needs and events. What I find in the last few years is a gradual dismantling of meaningful citizen input from the voices of the people. Citizen groups have been dissolved or relegated to a non-entity, often tasked and rarely taken into real consideration. I have looked into the Civic Center Committees admonishments and there is a documented record of a lack of action on the part of the city for a prolonged period, with a great deal of preparation and research on the part of CCAC, with clear guidelines, budgetary and otherwise. Then the city completely deviates from the process and autonomously makes purchases more expensive, not made in USA or even fitting the requirements for the intended use as determined by the committee. I would have taken that as a slap in the face, certainly it’s kind of rude. I am also really at odds with trying to understand the Council reaction and responses on the subject of the discussion of a Solar Energy System for the Civic Center. I expect that the Council should have more concern for legitimate Continued on Page 4 Solar Energy for the Drain Civic Center uncertainty it’s much better to be prepared and think ahead so that we can mitigate potential disruptions and take care of our citizens. The current status at the Civic Center, a power outage will prevent it’s use for any of the needed functions of emergency use in most regards. A Solar Energy System would answer most all of those questions besides the added benefit of saving thousands of dollars in energy costs for electricity. So, of course, the first thought is, “Well how much is that going to cost, sounds great but surely we can’t afford that”. Well there is actually a way. HB 2021 created a $50 million fund at ODOE to provide grants for planning and developing community renewable energy and energy resilience projects . It’s called the Community Renewable Energy Grant Program (C-REP). This is a working grant program that has provided over $64M in fiscal 2023/2024 and will be open for applications in early 2025. The grant amounts are funded at 100% with provisions for $100,000 for planning and $1,000,000 for construction. This is 100% funded for constructing a community energy resilience project. This is information is not unknown to city administrator Jeni Stevens and she has spoken on the possibility to a number of interested people. At the September 9th City Council meeting she brought it up for discussion and it was mostly a dismissive response. The Mayor quickly said she was a definite no. Her first criticism was that it the aesthetics for her and it would be an eyesore. Only 2 council persons were present, one asked who was paying to clean and maintain it and then seemed to focus on the speculation of snow on the roof causing malfunction or loss of power. The City Manager explained the basics of the grant funding that was available and the process but it was not discussed much further after concerns of wether the roof would even hold the weight of the panels. When a councilor suggested looking at a diesel generator, the discussion rallied around the reliability and availability of Diesel fuel, parts, maintenance. It is unclear if that included discussing fuel storage, environmental impact, Continued from Page 1 aesthetics, noise, issues with neighbors or other aspects, but it was clear that would be the choice. Without any real input, just a back pocket reaction, the residents of Drain seems to be denied the option of a significant development possibility for use and needs. The electric consumption from the buildings and property of the Civic Center & Library is significant and in fact the administration seems quite concerned about that fact. Doesn’t make much sense to just ignore that without serious inquiry into the very specific data that is available. The citizens, residents and visitors to Drain deserve to avail all the incentives and rewards affording for their use, especially in public places. It only takes a perfunctory search online or make a few phone calls to get layman’s answers to all the questions and concerns offered by the council and it becomes pretty obvious no one has done even that. Starting with maintenance, it turns these modern systems require very little and the industry standard is once to twice a year maintenance schedule. Costs for services vary from $200 to $600 on average and is available in our area. According to Solar Protect Org: “Solar panel cleaning prices can vary depending on several factors. These variables include the size of the panel system, panel location, accessibility, and level of dirt or debris accumulation. On average, you can expect to pay between $150 and $500 per cleaning session. To maintain efficiency, it’s recommended to clean your panels at least once or twice a year.” Generators do generally have lower up front costs compared to solar power systems, but they incur ongoing expenses for fuel and maintenance. Solar power systems have higher initial investment costs but offer long-term savings on electricity bills and is attainable through existing Grants and incentive programs. Snow? Have you been to LaPine or Bend, and many other places who have a lot more snow than we do and Solar is part of the landscape. According to energy.gov: “A dusting of snow has little impact on solar panels Continued on Page 3 Drain Mayor: Erin Sparhawk Council Position #1: Grant Vaughan Council Position #2: Kevin VanPelt Council Position #3: Katie Decker Council Position #5: Aaron Lymath City Administrator: Jeni Stevens City Council Meeting:10/14/24 - 6pm Yoncalla Mayor: Kathleen Wertz Councilors: Dan Wagoner Gene Vroman Harold Gilpin Bryce Wertz City Administrator: Jennifer Bragg Council Meeting: 10/08/24 - 6pm Elkton Mayor: Daniel Burke Council President: Joan Smith Council Members: Kim Moore Dan Shepherd Sandra Galli Public Works Supervisor: Gary Trout Council Meeting:10/10/24 - 8:30am Oakland Mayor: Bette Keehley Counselor: Jan Wier Counselor: Kent Rochester Counselor: Sky Ironplow Counselor: Betty Tamm Council Meeting: 10/14/24 - 7pm Sutherlin Mayor : Michelle Sumner Council President Debbie Hamilton Councilor Lisa Woods Councilor Joe Groussman Councilor Larry Whitaker Councilor Shawn Smalley Councilor Gary Dagel City Manager Jerry Gillham Council Meeting: 10/14/24 - 7:15pm Reedsport Mayor : Linda McCollum Council Position #1: Rob Wright Council Position #2: DeeDee Murphy Council Position #3: Chuck Miller Council Position #5: Allen Teitzel Council Position #5: Rich Patten Council Position #7: Debby Turner Council Meeting: 11/04//24 - 7pm Cottage Grove Mayor: Candace Solesbee Councilor Ward 1: Open Seat Councilor Ward 2: Jon Stinnett Councilor Ward 3: Dana Merryday Councilor Ward 4: Greg Ervin Councilor: Open Seat Councilor: Open Seat Council Meeting;: 10/14/24 - 6:55pm 10/28/24 - 6:55pm County State & Federal Douglas County Commisioners: Tom Kress(Chair) Tim Freeman Chris Boice Jennifer Miller Lane County Commissioners: Dist 1: Ray Ceniga Dist 2: David Lovall Dist 3: Laurie Trieger Dist 4: Pat Farr Dist 5: Heather Buch Oregon House Representative: District 02: Virgle Osborne Oregon State Senator: District 1: David Brock Smith U.S. Senate Oregon: Jeff Merkley Ron Wyden U.S House of Representatives: District 4: Val Hoyle Secretary of State: LaVonne Griffin-Valade Attorney General: Ellen Rosenblum Governor: Tina Kotek Vice-President: Kamala Harris President: Joe Biden It is important to know your representation in your State, Districts and Municipalities. RE- MEMBER it is vital to your freedoms to vote.If you would like to have your own towns municipal officers listed please send title & names only to citydesk@ndherald.com
